The Purple-Haired Shrine Maiden
by LordByronMudkippington
Summary: A sullen and disinterested photographer, Maki Nishikino is under the employ and care of her aunt, Eli Ayase. One day, someone comes into their store while Eli's out, wanting help to find her missing friend. When Maki agrees to help out, she's unwittingly led into a terrible, cursed world. With everyone around her disappearing, all Maki has left is Aunt Eli's special camera...
1. Drop 1 - The Coldest Fall

**Author's Note:** I should really be working on Purrfect Partners. I will be, don't you worry. I'm just having a much-needed break to rest my mind, and what better way to do that than to write some depressing stuff? I actually want to finish several one-shots I've had lying around too, but that will come in time. I have all this stuff written down and just never either post it or finish it, so I want to make it a goal to get all of it done while keeping steady with Purrfect Partners. With that out of the way, I shall explain this.

This fic is chaptered (in the spirit of the game it's based on, they will be known as 'drops'), but will not update regularly (then again, nothing I do does). Rather, it will update whenever I get the inspiration to put out another drop, and may potentially be updated and/or edited if need be. Any updates/edits will be noted on both the chapter updated/edited and the next chapter as well. This here is based off of the new (for North America/Europe) Wii U horror game, _Fatal Frame: Maiden of Black Water_. It's awesome, and I definitely recommend it. If you've played this game, then you know that it has a lot to do with death and suicide. With that in mind, if you're not into that, you may not be into this.

On that note, I'm gonna try to update my profile to let my lovely readers know more about how far certain stories are coming along, just to have some way to keep you all in the know. Enjoy!

* * *

A dulled pair of amethyst eyes stared glumly out of the bedroom window, taking in the sight of dark-gray clouds rolling in with melancholic indifference. Even if the sun shone brilliantly, there was no energy within the young girl to step outside and enjoy the joyous weather. In all honesty, it had been many years since she had felt a rush of euphoria that would render a real smile visible upon her face. These could only be dismissed as the downcast emotions of a moody teenager, however, so she figured that it was lucky there was only one person in her life she could even admit such feelings to. Someone that very likely didn't care whether or not she was content or miserable. They both seemed skilled at keeping secrets.

Nishikino Maki, the scowling assistant photographer, desensitized to the sensation of death. It was rather morbid, but there was nothing but truth in those words. However, her knowledge of this specific form of photography was limited only to what her Aunt Eli had taught her, which was admittedly not much. The artistry of what was known as postmortem photography was not something suitable for children, but even at the age of seventeen Maki was mostly closed off to that world, forced to keep to their main business of regular, living photography. That admittedly suited her just fine, but sometimes she wished she could be more involved in her aunt's specialty. It was supposed to be part of her job, after all.

That common scowl scarred her face again as she dredged up memories of her strict, cold aunt, an involuntary shudder coursing up and down her spine at the thought of those icy blue eyes, as if they were staring right through her at this very moment. There was no animosity held for her aunt, however. Disappointment, perhaps; definitely rebellion, and a hint of fear, but there was no hate. After all, she was the one who had taken it upon herself to house and watch over Maki when she was younger, and that counted for something. No one else had done what she did, and Maki would always remain grateful for this. Still, it was often the thought crossed her mind that her very existence remained a burden for her caretaker, and it was a constant reminder that she didn't, couldn't belong her. Where else was she to go, though?

Shaking these unhappy thoughts from her mind, Maki ran a hand through her scarlet locks and reluctantly removed herself from the comforts of her bed, slipping on her slippers and picking up the small digital camera that was resting on her nightstand. There was no desire in her to go outside and take any pictures, but there was a certain comfort in having it in her hands, just in case. Making her way downstairs, she politely called out for her aunt, but no response was given in return. She must have already left. For what reason, Maki didn't know, and she never bothered to ask.

A slight pinprick of guilt prodded her heart for constantly not asking where her caretaker was, but she knew that it was part of the job, and that was enough. Now her mind needed to be preoccupied with taking care of the store, so she allowed herself to shuffle lazily to the front, taking her place behind the counter and setting her camera down. This part of the job she was familiar with, and could do with ease. People would come in and want a picture, professionally taken, and it would be Maki's job to take that picture. It brought in enough money, but photographing people wasn't something she was interested in: she just did it for Aunt Eli.

She didn't expect many customers today. In fact, she would be surprised if even one person ventured inside for anything else than shelter, considering how ominous the weather was this morning. So it was indeed surprising when someone walked inside and came to the desk, their facial features showing off incredible nervousness. Maki recognized her, however: they were the same age, and had spoken once or twice, but all she really knew about this girl was her name.

"Hanayo," she nodded in greeting, hand automatically reaching for her camera. She wasn't quite sure what kind of picture Hanayo would want to have taken, however: she had always seemed shy when it came to such things.

"G-Good morning, Maki-chan. I-Is Ayase-san in today?" Maki frowned slightly, wondering why Hanayo would ask for Aunt Eli specifically. It was a simple request, but her first thought had been that Hanayo had come in for a picture, so immediately she came to the conclusion that her photography abilities were being called into question. That didn't sit well with her.

"If you need a picture taken, I'm perfectly capable of doing it myself." The look on her face made it clear what she believed Hanayo to be implying, causing her to raise her hands in alarm, trying to wave off such an accusation.

"I-It's not that, M-Maki-chan! A-Ayase-san j-just said she'd h-help me with something, a-and I was hoping she w-was here." _Oh._ It must concern the other part of their job, the part that Maki was not fully privy to. That would explain Hanayo's need for her aunt. Another feeling of guilt washed over her for believing ill of Hanayo. There she went again, being overly-sensitive to anything that even remotely appeared to be criticism.

"I'm sorry, Hanayo." Her apology was sincere, but it sounded awkward on her lips, and she doubted Hanayo's nerves were quelled by it. "Aunt Eli is out again. When she comes back, I can tell her you came over." That definitely didn't seem to placate Hanayo, who seemed even more worried, if that was possible.

"O-Oh. Th-Then you don't have to tell her. I-I'm just gonna... I gotta go! I'm sorry, Maki-chan!" Before Maki could say anything, Hanayo had already whirled around and was heading for the door. Whatever was going on, it was suspicious, and she knew that she would drown in that guilt if she let Hanayo just walk out like that. Awkwardly lifting herself onto the counter, she half-jumped, half-fell over it and onto the floor below, hurrying after the girl. These slippers were not meant for chase sequences.

"H-Hanayo, wait!" Luckily that stopped Hanayo, which saved Maki from the chance of embarrassing herself any further. Placing a hand on her shoulder, Maki tried to give off a helpful smile. No doubt it looked even worse than her apology sounded. "Don't go off running by yourself, alright? I know Aunt Eli is more fit to do this, but I want to help. Just let me get my camera and close up the shop, okay?" Someone in Hanayo's family must have died, so this would be something that she had to approach with extreme tact. That wasn't her strong suit, but she could make it work.

Hanayo wore a shaky but graceful smile at Maki's words. "Th-Thank you, Maki-chan. I-It means a lot." Nodding in response, Maki hurried back to grab her camera off the counter, barely remembering to put on more appropriate footwear before locking the front door and heading back to Hanayo. This was going to be her first time doing postmortem photography by herself, and she didn't want anything to go wrong. The two of them then fell into step, though there was one question that became readily important as exactly where they were walking came to her notice.

"Uh, Hanayo, this isn't the way to your house. Where are we going?"

"Mount Otonokizaka."

* * *

 _Aunt Eli wasn't her actual aunt. The Ayases had been friends with her family, and when circumstances changed, the Ayases were more than happy to take her in. Their daughter, or 'Aunt Eli' as Maki always called her, had already graduated from university. At the impressionable age of ten, Maki looked up to Eli and was always asking the elder Ayases when she was coming back from her job or visiting her friends. The happiest moment she could remember was the two of them being near the forest, when Eli told her that she was special. She certainly didn't feel special anymore._

A cold wind ran across her bared arms, a touch of rain noticeably hanging upon it. In her haste to accompany Hanayo, she had forgotten to, or rather hadn't considered, bringing an umbrella, and her counterpart had none either. Of course, she had not expected to be heading for Mount Otonokizaka, and despite her vehement and logical protests, still they trudged on towards that wretched place.

Already her camera was hanging from her arm, the silver strap tight around her wrist. If she had continued to hold it, she was liable to break it with tense hands. Nobody ventured to Mount Otonokizaka: nobody sane, that is. The legends of the intimidating mountain were well-known throughout the region, and most did well to stay clear of it. It was said that this place, once a ground for a prosperous shrine, was now where those who wished to commit suicide would enter. Of course, they would never come back. Just thinking about it made Maki's stomach churn: even one who was desensitized to death felt pain for the tragedy of a life cut short.

"Why would she come up here, Hanayo?" Maki tried to sound disinterested, but she couldn't help the nervous shake that accompanied her normally steady voice. A light mist had fallen, coating any and all exposed skin in a gentle rain. It didn't make sense for anyone to be up here, especially with the weather being as it was. Aunt Eli would have been able to keep things under control. She wouldn't have foolishly followed someone up a dangerous, curse-ridden mountain just because she felt some amount of guilt.

"She told me how pretty the sunset was in the mountains," Hanayo replied simply, leaving Maki more confused than before. Maybe the sunset was breathtaking up here, but it was a lot safer to just watch it down in the village. What was so wrong about that? Besides, it wasn't even close to dusk.

"O... kay? That doesn't mean she's here now, though."

"S-She..." Hanayo hesitated, as if weighing the option to speak some kind of deep secret. "She said she w-wanted to melt with the sunset." That made even less sense. This was just not going to be her day. With a quiet sigh, she tugged on Hanayo's shirt until they were facing each other.

"Hanayo, if she really did come up here, then maybe it would be best to call the police-"

"No!" Maki was taken aback by Hanayo's tone, full of anger and certainty. She let go of her shirt and took a step back, not wanting to make things escalate any further. "The police won't help! Th-They said she was s-s-spirited away! I-I have to find her!" Resolute in her actions, Hanayo turned back around and strode purposely forward, leaving Maki little choice but to follow along, lest the mountain ended up claiming two foolish, lost girls.

The rain began to fall harder, soaking through their clothes and muddying the dirty paths leading up and down the mountain. By this point, Maki was starting to get tired of trudging through the mud, feeling cold, hungry, and miserable. Hanayo, on the other hand, had made barely a sound since berating the incompetence of the police force. From rare glimpses, she could see Hanayo's eyes sparkling with something she had yet to see inside of them: determination. It probably wouldn't have been a bad idea to try the police again, though.

With the sun refusing to make an appearance, the dark clouds were covering the mountain in shadows. Nearby, the sounds of a waterfall reached their ears, and Maki was able to trace its origin to a strange-looking pond some distance below them. The water looked very clear, yet oddly darkened, falling into a large pool of water with what appeared to be antiquated lanterns lighting up the area. It seemed as if someone had been there recently, recent enough to have lit the lanterns, but who in the world would want to come here and do such? She started to open her mouth to voice these thoughts, but instead ran right into Hanayo's back. For some reason, she had stopped walking.

"Hanayo, what are you-" Looking over Hanayo's shoulder, Maki swore she saw a glimpse of someone walking away from them, but the minute act of blinking showed that no one was there. Frowning slightly, she realized that Hanayo was starting to walk trance-like up the path. "Hanayo, wait!"

"I saw her!" Hanayo shouted excitedly, starting to run ahead blindly without once looking back. "Rin-chan! Rin-chan, wait!"

"Hanayo!" Maki's word held no impact, which meant she would have to go after her and drag her off this crazy mountain. Somehow the fact that the rain had increased in ferocity had escaped them, perhaps because they both were already too soaked to care. It made the ground that much harder to traverse, however, and Maki's attempt at running after Hanayo ended abruptly.

Violet eyes wide, she could feel time slowing to a crawl within her mind as she suddenly lost her footing. Her feet slid hard on the mud and gave way, the ground disappearing from under her. A soundless scream - or perhaps her ears refused to acknowledge it - left her lips, forever to be unheard, and then she was falling. Desperately she grabbed at the cliff, but her hands slapped meaninglessly against its side as she could only slightly slow her inevitable doom. She never saw the ground rising up to meet her, staring upwards with terror in her eyes. Her body made an ugly, painful sound as it hit the ground, and Maki could've sworn she saw a faint, translucent figure watching her just before the world went black.

* * *

 _There was a camera that Aunt Eli was rather protective of: a very special camera that was off limits. Maki was a pretty rebellious twelve-year-old though, and the first opportunity she had where the camera was left unattended, she grabbed it and went to the foot of the mountain. It was a beautiful day, and she thought that this special camera could take the best pictures. Maybe Aunt Eli would even be proud that she took such beautiful pictures._

 _Standing there, holding the camera up to her eye, she had a tremendous fright. Someone was standing there, partially hidden by a wayward tree, pale and staring right at her. She didn't know this person, but their face was obscured and blurry. A smile crossed their obfuscated demeanor, and all Maki could see was cold, unending darkness. With a scream, she dropped the camera and ran home without pause. Aunt Eli was furious and scolded her most severely. She never touched that camera again._

Not much time had passed. At least, it didn't seem as if it had. All she could feel was pain throughout her entire body. Her eyes were slow to open, the whole world blurry and spinning all around her. Closing her eyes to try and shut out the terrible pain she felt all over, she lifted her arm to place a muddy and wet hand against her throbbing forehead. As she did, her elbow smacked against something. Hissing slightly at the heightened sense of agony, her eyes slowly opened once more to try and see what she had hit.

It was dark brown and cube-shaped, but she had to grab it and put it near her face in order to see what it actually was through the haze. Her eyes widened when she took note of what it was, the object nearly falling out of her shaking hands. It was Aunt Eli's special camera. She would never just leave it behind. She was here too... somewhere.

Panic started to set in as Maki forced herself to sit up, ignoring the screams of protest from her sore and aching body. Shaking her head to try and clear the haze that had settled upon her vision, she gently set the camera down and took stock of her surroundings. She had fallen down the cliff side and onto a particularly muddy section of overgrown grass. The waterfall she had heard earlier was here, so now she was getting an up close and personal look at the pool with the old lanterns still glowing in the darkened area.

Maki grimaced when she found her own camera. It had gotten detached from her wrist during the fall, the useless drawstring lost within the mud. The camera was just as useless, however, as it was broken beyond repair. Its lens was shattered completely, and the top was caved into the center. She left it where it laid, not willing to carry around dead weight. Hopefully Aunt Eli wouldn't be too mad that she had broken it.

A sharp jolt ran through her brain when she realized that Aunt Eli was still probably out here, if her discarded camera was any indication. Now she had three lost people to find. Grabbing the camera tensely, Maki felt intensely overwhelmed as she stood on wobbly legs. How was she to find three separate people on a huge mountain when she couldn't even keep up with one of them. At the very least, her first goal needed to be getting back up the cliff and try to see if there was some way to track down Hanayo.

As soon as she took her first step, a sharp, pained gasp escaped her as pain shot up and down her ankle. Her legs crumbled beneath her and she fell ungracefully into the pool, sputtering and coughing as a worse chill spread to her bones. Despite being half-buried in mud and then nearly drowned in a pool, there seemed to be little damage to the camera, and that was exclusive to minor cosmetic scratches. She put the camera up to her eye and stared through it, sight clear as ever.

Pulling the camera back down, a shiver ran down her back, remembering just what she had seen the first - and last - time she had used this camera. That wasn't something she wanted to experience again, but curiosity was drawing her to look again. It was important to make sure the camera still worked, after all. A picture to check; any random one would do. So, with trepidation and intrigue, Maki faced the waterfall and pulled the camera back up to her face. Someone was standing there watching.

Maki screamed, and this time the sound registered in her ears as she fell over again, the figure remaining even after the camera dropped from her hands into her lap. Just like all those years ago, it was pale, completely white in fact, and decidedly feminine. The only thing that broke that color scheme was the woman's hair, which was as blue as the water they stood in, yet as dark as a starless night. Then her feet left the ground, and she swooped down towards Maki.

Fear coursed through her veins as she stood and tried to run, but the water made her movements sluggish, and her ankle, likely sprained, gave out and again and sent her tumbling back into the pool with a large splash. The only positive part about it was that the woman, spirit, whatever it was just missed her, zooming just overhead. Flipping around onto her back, Maki put the camera up in front of her and depressed the shutter.

Why she did it, she wasn't sure. Maybe it was because she thought that a picture would be proof that whatever was going on was actually happening, or maybe she was just too deep into insanity to understand what she was doing. Whatever the reason, it seemed to actually do something, as through wide and fearful eyes she saw the woman shudder and heard her shrieks of pain. One moment she was there, and the next there was no one. Just Maki, lying there soaked and shivering in cold and fright. She looked all over, trying to find the woman, but she was gone.

Taking even more care as she stood up, a new wetness began slipping down her cheeks. She didn't understand why she was crying, but it was like a faucet had been broken, and the tears refused to stop. Clutching the camera in trembling hands, she began to limp out of the pool and towards dryer, muddier land. The walk was slowed by her sprained ankle, her vision obscured by her incessant, silent sobbing. She felt terribly alone: Hanayo was gone, Rin was gone, even Aunt Eli was gone. All she had wanted to do was help, and now things seemed to be even worse.

Any traces of resentment towards her aunt were gone in that moment, where her entire body was shaking and all she wanted was to go home and find everything still the way it should be, like this was just some terrible dream. All the times she feigned sleep to ignore her caretaker, now she wished so badly that Aunt Eli's arms were wrapped around her, holding her tightly, telling her that it would all be okay. In no condition to continue on, she shuffled miserably along until the path became familiar, where she had been with Hanayo before things turned sour.

The right thing to do would've been to continue down the path, to go find Hanayo, and Rin, and hopefully Aunt Eli too. Her entire body hurt though, as did her heart, and she didn't believe that she could go on in this state. Trying not to become swallowed up by guilt, Maki slowly trudged the path off the mountain and back home. She was completely alone, and she didn't know what to do. The rain kept falling, but she could no longer feel it, only shamefully aware of the tears still cascading down her cheeks like that horrible waterfall.

* * *

 _Rin doesn't feel very happy. No, nobody knows. Well, except Kayochin. We tell each other everything! I feel bad though, because I didn't tell her this time. She feels the same way I do, you know. We both promised each other. We promised we'd melt into the beautiful sunset and be together forever. Things changed, though. Rin knows Kayochin feels differently now. That's why I didn't tell her. It feels lonely without her._

 _The other kids say that Rin doesn't look much like a girl. No, Rin is more like a boy. They tease me, and it feels really bad. Kayochin understands, though. She gets teased too. She tells me that I'm cute, but I don't believe her. Rin wishes she could believe Kayochin._

 _We both wanted to go away. We both tried to go away, but we both failed. We were sad, but we still had each other, and we understood each other. The sunset's so pretty though, just like Kayochin! Rin wishes Kayochin was here to see it too, but Rin really needs to go. I hope Kayochin doesn't hate me!_

 _Rin really likes the sunset. It's melting below the mountain. Rin wants to melt with it. It's going away really fast. Rin needs to catch up._


	2. Drop 2 - Reinforcements

**Author's Note:** Well, five months later, and here's chapter two. That took a lot longer than I expected when I originally started this. I actually finished part of this that very month, then stopped working on it until this week. It's been an equal amount of time since I played Fatal Frame V, so my memories of everything that happened have grown fuzzy. I'm considering playing the game again in order to jog my memory, but we'll see.

* * *

The rain was still pouring outside, the wind aiding it by whipping it against the glass and howling loudly. Lights illuminated nearly every room in the house, Maki having turned them all on as she went. The electricity bill would be higher than normal, but she just couldn't be alone right then, and having as many lights on as possible was the closest thing to companionship she could have.

Her wanderings eventually led her upstairs, where she began to draw herself a nice, warm bath before discarding all of her wet clothes. The camera remained in her possession though, sitting passively upon the edge of the bathtub. Every time Maki stared at it, she could feel her body shiver with apprehension, unable to understand what she had seen through that camera. An entire lifetime had not prepared her to comprehend that there were ghosts on that mountain.

Letting herself sink into the warm water, she closed her eyes and tried to wrack her brain for any and all explanations for what occurred, but nothing came to mind. Only a single, impossible truth that she just couldn't wrap her mind around: ghosts. Spirits inhabited Mount Otonokizaka, and one had attacked her. Now three people were gone, and she was at a loss about what to do. How was she supposed to even find them, let alone save them?

Biting her lip in worry, she wished once again that Aunt Eli was here. She would know what to do. She was brave and knowledgeable and would never back down. Not like Maki had. Shame burned across her face as she shut her eyes tightly, trying to block out those awful thoughts, but they refused to go away. Realizing how futile it was to feign ignorance, she slowly opened her eyes, only to be drawn once again to the camera.

Picking it up, she twisted it around in her hands, examining each angle for clues as to what exactly it did, because it was not a normal camera. If she was to believe that spirits were really haunting this plane of existence, then she also had to believe that taking a picture of that woman had brought pain to her. No normal camera could do that. No normal camera could survive being dropped, muddied, and submerged in water. Yet this one did. Aunt Eli's special camera was different.

While drying off, as the bath water went down the drain, she couldn't help but continue to look at the camera. She still didn't understand it, but it was very important, that much she could tell. Changing into drier clothes, she picked up the camera once more and held it close to her chest, looking out timidly before exiting the room. The whole ordeal had her fearful of her own house.

Limping to her room, she found herself pausing in front of Aunt Eli's room. Staring at the door that would lead her inside, she couldn't help but wonder if there was something inside there, some indication about where she had gone. She never went inside Aunt Eli's room without permission, but this was an emergency, so she hoped it would be okay. Tentatively she opened the door and peered inside before making her way in.

She couldn't help but feel disappointed that Aunt Eli wasn't in there. She knew that the room would be empty, but she'd been holding on to the tiniest of hopes that it wouldn't be true. Immediately her eyes were drawn to the desk, tucked away in the corner of the room. A manila folder laid smack dab on its center, so Maki went for that first. Flipping on the desk lamp, she opened the folder and perused through its contents.

The folder in question was a missing persons file, crafted by Aunt Eli herself. It was for someone named Hoshizora Rin, and apparently this was a new case. She recognized the name in question, as it had been shouted out all-too recently, and she certainly knew the name of the requester written down below: Koizumi Hanayo. So this was Hanayo's friend that they were searching for. Well, now they both were missing. Maki sighed softly as she glanced at a picture connected to the page.

The photo, taped right beneath the word 'Token', was of a grinning girl with bright orange hair. So this was what Rin looked like, then. Gently she went to brush a finger across the picture, gazing at it with curious eyes. She didn't know what a 'token' was supposed to be, or why there was a photo taped to it, but being unaware only made things more difficult.

As her fingers came in contact with the photo, she could feel a gentle tug, as if something was pulling her out of the room. Alarmed, she stumbled backwards, and the sensation was suddenly gone. Blinking in utter bewilderment, she experimentally placed a finger back on the photo, and the same feeling returned. "What... What is this?"

She pulled the picture off of the paper it was taped to, feeling the sensation grow stronger, wanting to pull her out of the room and from the house. This photo, this 'token', it had some sort of power. It was special, like the camera. Slowly she put it back on the desk, her hands shaking as she did. The mountain was calling to her. She couldn't explain it, but she could feel it when she came in contact with the picture. It was calling her, holding innocent people hostage that only she could save, but how? She knew nothing about what was going on, and she'd already proved her cowardice by running away when they needed her. How was she supposed to do this?

Her eyes were drawn to a yellow post-it note stuck to the desk, something she hadn't noticed initially. Peering down at it, a phone number was written down, along with the words 'Found the book'. She didn't recognize the number, but by now she was feeling desperate. Whoever this number belonged to, they must have wanted to get a book from Aunt Eli. An odd request, considering they weren't a library, but maybe it was a photography book. They had to have contacted Aunt Eli though, and maybe, just maybe they'd have some idea of what was going on.

Maki's hands still shook as she picked up the phone and dialed the number. She silently prayed that this person wouldn't think she was crazy, and that they could explain just what was going on.

* * *

"Yazawa-san, there's a phone call for you. ... Unbelievable. Yazawa-san, wake up!" Her name was being called, which was weird. It was weird because she was eating alone, which could only mean that her meal was talking to her. That definitely wasn't right. Nico glanced down at her salad, waiting for it to talk again. Nothing else was said though, and so she could only shrug and return to eating.

That only lasted a single bite before the entire room shook, sending Nico lurching forward against the table. Eyes wide, she grabbed onto the table as her salad flew halfway across the room, the bowl it was housed in shattering upon impact. Another rumbling shook the room once more, sending Nico flying off her chair. She could swear a soft piano was playing for her overly-dramatic fall, and then everything went black...

... For a second, until she opened her eyes and realized that she'd just been dreaming. Now she was on the floor, being looked down upon by a very annoyed assistant. _Her_ very annoyed assistant. "Yazawa-san, please try not to sleep through the entire day. You know it keeps you up all night."

"Sorry, sorry." Nico groaned as she stood up, shaking her head to clear out her sleepy daze. Sometimes she felt a tad indignant at being treated like a child, by someone younger than her no less, but she understood that Tsubasa was only looking out for her. Running a hand over her face, she blinked the sleep out of her eyes and focused on her assistant. "What's up?"

"You have a call."

"Oh, alright." Shuffling over towards the phone, she grabbed it and put it to her ear. "Yazawa Nico speaking."

"H-Hello, you, uh..." Whoever was on the other end of the line sounded extremely nervous, like they weren't sure what they wanted from her. Nico forced herself to wait patiently, though. Either they would figure it out, or they'd hang up and allow her to fall back asleep. "You were, uh, looking for a book, right? From Ayase Eli?" Now that name rang a bell.

"Yes, actually. This wouldn't happen to be Maki, would it?" Nico had never met Maki, but Eli had spoken about her before, and if they knew of the book, it could be no one else.

"H-How did you know?"

"Eli's told me about you. She already gave me the book a couple weeks ago though, so how come she's having you call me?" There was silence on the other end, long enough to where Nico started to worry a bit. "Maki, is Eli alright?" Something felt off now. Why was she not answering? "Maki-"

"She went to Mount Otonokizaka." Nico didn't miss the quiver within Maki's voice, and she realized that something bad definitely must have happened. "Sh-She hasn't come back yet. I went up there and I found her camera, but she wasn't... You're not going to believe me." Hesitation creeped into Maki's voice. With only that information to go on, however, Nico was starting to get an idea of what must have happened. "Y-You're going to think I'm crazy."

"You'd be surprised at what I'll believe nowadays. Stay in the house, Maki. I'm going to be right there." After a few more reassurances to calm Maki down, they hung up and Nico hurried over to grab her coat, shrugging it on. "Come on, Tsubasa. We need to go."

"What happened, Yazawa-san?"

"Eli's in trouble, and we need to get over to the shop right away." If Eli had gone to the mountain and was still missing, then something bad must have happened. She'd repeatedly told her that going up there would bring nothing but trouble, but Eli had always been led by her conscience. It was admirable, if a tad foolish. The rumors of that mountain, though... Nico hoped they really were just rumors.

* * *

Maki sat in the front of the store, shaking on the stool as her eyes stayed glued to the front door. Even with her entire being on high alert, the sound of loud knocking nearly made her jump a foot in the air. Hurriedly she stumbled to the door, opening it and being greeted by a girl who looked to be the age of a university student, her golden-brunette hair showing off an impressive amount of forehead. "N-Nico?"

"Not quite." The girl grinned, and in turn Maki's attention turned to another girl standing next to the one she had mistaken for Nico. This girl had jet-black hair, and was shorter than both of them, almost like a middle schooler. Ignoring the deep frown on her face, the other girl pointed down to her. " _That's_ Nico."

"Wh-What?" Maki's voice faltered, unable to reconcile the image she had of the woman on the phone with the shorter-than-her adult that had the expression of a hurt, angry dog. A chihuahua, perhaps. Snarling, Nico pushed Maki out of the way as she entered the shop.

"I'm going to ignore all of that because Eli is in trouble." Shaking off the pointed barb at her height, Nico turned to Maki, doing her best to make herself not seem so angry-looking. Based on their phone conversation, Maki seemed on-edge, and trying to do things too quickly wasn't going to help matters. "So Eli went up to the mountain, right?"

"Y-Yeah," Maki mumbled shakily, clasping her hands together and forcing herself to make eye contact with Nico, which wasn't that hard: looking down was what she had planned on doing anyway. "I went up there with Hanayo, a girl from the village. She... She ran after a... Gods, I don't even know." She ran her hand through her bangs, visibly nervous. "I barely even saw anything."

"Hm..." Nico rubbed her chin in thought. "How do you know Eli went up there?"

"I found her camera." Turning around, she made her way back to the front desk and grabbed Aunt Eli's camera, bringing it back and handing it to Nico. With it in her hands, Nico didn't take long to look it over: she knew exactly what it was. "I-I think it's special, and I know she wouldn't leave it out in the mud..."

"Well, you're right about it being special." Handing it back, Nico nodded to the other girl, who fished in her bag and pulled out the exact same camera. "What you've got there is a Camera Obscura. With it, you can see things that the naked eye could never dream of beholding."

"Like ghosts..." Maki whispered softly, clutching the camera tightly in her hands.

"Exactly. Now we need to find Eli. Are you ready to go?" With a slight nod, Maki prepared to follow, but a slight hiss of pain escaped her lips when she stepped down too hard with her sprained ankle. It didn't go unnoticed, as Nico gave her a concerned look. "What happened, Maki?"

"I-I just... hurt my ankle on the mountain." She tried to play it off, but it didn't seem to fool Nico, who crossed her arms and stood in the doorway. "Don't we have to go?"

"You're not going anywhere. Not in your condition."

"Wh-What? But I have to find Aunt Eli!"

"I know, Maki. I know." Nico placed a hand gently on Maki's shoulder, glancing down at her ankle. "But you're injured. I couldn't face Eli again if I let something worse happen to you." It made sense, but Maki didn't want to accept it. If she stayed there, all she would be able to do would be feel guilty. Still, it looked as if the choice was taken out of her hands, as Nico refused to budge until she finally backed down.

"Alright... I'll stay." She stepped back and stared at her feet, refusing to look up until Nico had left. Now, she could only hope that Nico would come through. Before retreating back to her room, Maki opened the door and peeked out, watching as Nico and her assistant headed for the mountain. "Good luck..."


End file.
